What is the observational status of Venus during superior conjunction?
Answer
It is obscured by the Sun's light, rendering it unobservable despite being farther away.
Superior conjunction occurs when the Sun is positioned directly between Earth and Venus in the solar system geometry. Although Venus is at its farthest point from Earth during this alignment, which would naturally make it appear smaller and dimmer, it remains unobservable. The primary reason for its invisibility is that it is completely obscured by the overwhelming brightness and glare of the Sun itself. This configuration marks a point in the transition where Venus shifts from being the Morning Star phase to becoming the Evening Star phase after it moves out from behind the Sun.
Related Questions
Why is Venus constrained to the dawn or dusk hours unlike planets like Mars or Jupiter?What is the approximate orbital period of Venus compared to Earth's orbital period?What event occurs when Venus passes directly between the Earth and the Sun, causing it to vanish?What is the approximate length of the synodic period that governs Venus's full cycle of visibility?What geometrical event defines Venus setting at its latest time after the Sun in the evening sky?What is the observational status of Venus during superior conjunction?How does the maximum greatest elongation angle of Venus contrast with that of Mercury?What phase does Venus exhibit when positioned between Earth and the Sun, contrasting with its appearance at greatest elongation?What factor determines the *duration* of Venus's visibility window in the twilight, separate from orbital mechanics?What key observation confirms that an observer will never see Venus high overhead near midnight?